Eating Cherries
by velja
Summary: At their first get-together after Graduation both Ryan and Chad have some news for their friends. But Chad may be a little late with his. Too late? And what's that to do with eating cherries? Find out. CHYAN eventually. Post HSM3, so slight Spoilers.
1. Chapter 1

**Eating Cherries**

By velja

**Pairing:** Chyan eventually

**Rating:** PG-13

**Disclaimer:** Sadly they're still not mine and I'm still not making any money from this

**Word count: **8487 words (divided into three parts)

**Summary:** At the first get-together after graduation Ryan and Chad each have some news for the others. But Chad may be a little late with his information… perhaps too late?

**Author's note:** This story starts with a set of emails (I think it's pretty obvious who's who) and I know it's been done before. In the last few days I've read a couple of stories that begin like this (they're what gave me the idea) but I had to give it a try myself.

I hope I didn't steal anyone's idea and I also hope you like it.

**Another Note: **The title may seem a bit random at first but, believe me, it will all make sense in the end. At least to me it does. Oh, and I don't know if there actually are cherry trees growing in New Mexico but… let's just pretend there are, okay?

* * *

**Part One**

**To:** Goldenthroat; Hiphopqueen; Hoops'n'Musik; Idontdance; Jazzsquare; Sciencegoddess; Shorty; Starcook; Whatdidisay?

**From:** Sunshine

**Subject:** Winter break get-together?

_Hey everybody,_

_Are we still on for the get-together on Sunday before Christmas? I can't wait to see you guys again._

_Love you all,_

Gabriella

**To: **Jazzsquare

**From:** Goldenthroat

**Subject: !!!!**

_Ryan,_

_I can't believe you'd act so immature!_

_Tell me it's not true, Ry… tell me you haven't been ignoring my calls because of this!_

_I mean, you weren't seriously thinking about… ? Come on, I KNOW you!_

_Anyway, mother says you'll be down here on Friday so… you better think of a good explanation._

_You're not really… sorry, Ry but I don't believe it!_

_Shar_

**To:** Hiphopqueen; Hoops'n'Musik; Jazzsquare; Shorty; Sunshine

**From:** Sciencegoddess

**Subject:** Chad

_Hey guys,_

_Did anyone talk to Chad lately? If not… well. Troy, I think you should call him. There's something… I really think he could use a friend right now._

_I'm so sorry I can't make it home for Christmas, I'd love to see you all._

_Big hugs for all of you,_

Taylor

**To:** Shorty

**From:** Jazzsquare

**Subject:** I'm sorry!

_Hey Kelsi,_

_I'm really sorry that Shar is pestering you about Robin and me. But… I'm not overreacting, am I? Please tell me I'm not overreacting._

_What she did was really…_

_It's none of her business who I'm dating, is it?_

_Please, please… don't let her get to you, okay?_

_I'm sure once I'm home she'll stop bugging you… she will be too busy grilling and killing me._

_See you at the airport._

_Big hug, Ry_

**To:** Hiphopqueen; Hoops'n'Musik; Idontdance; Sciencegoddess; Shorty; Starcook; Sunshine; Whatdidisay?

**From:** Goldenthroat

**Subject:**

_Has anyone talked to my stupid, headstrong brother???_

_Kelsi, you've better talked some sense into him by the time you two come back or I'll make the chauffeur leave you standing at the airport._

_Everyone else, be at our house at seven on Sunday… and Zeke, you'll bring some of your chocolate chips cookies, right? Oh, and don't forget the Christmas presents!_

_See you,_

_Sharpay_

**To:** Everyone

**From:** Hoops'n'Musik

**Subject:** Did I miss something?

_Hi Taylor,_

_What is the matter with Chad? He didn't say anything when I called him yesterday and I didn't know how to bring it up. When did you get a hold of him? He's been making himself pretty scarce lately, always busy with… whatever. Is he avoiding me? Why?_

_What is it?_

_Oh, wait, that's my cell ringing…_

_----_

_Has anyone gone completely crazy now?? _

_Sharpay just called me! Sharpay! I didn't know she had my number!_

_She wanted to know if I'd talked to Ryan lately and she was pretty bitchy… I mean, really! More than normal! And she wouldn't tell me why Ryan's not speaking to her._

_What's going on here?_

_Do you know why Ryan's mad at her? And does it have something to do with Chad? Gabriella said Kelsi knew but wouldn't tell. She said Ryan made Kelsi promise not to tell anyone._

_What's wrong with everybody? I'm feeling kind of out of the loop._

_I wish you a happy Christmas, sorry you can't be there._

_Troy_

**To:** Sciencegoddess

**From:** Hoops'n'Musik

**Subject:** Oh fuck!

_Hey Taylor,_

_The last mail was for you only but I seem to have sent it to everyone else, too._

_Sorry!_

_Troy_

**To:** Idontdance

**From:** Sunshine

**Subject:** What's wrong?

_Hey Chad,_

_Is there anything I can do for you? If you need someone to talk… you know I'm here for you, don't you? And so is Troy._

_I hope you're alright. You can call me whenever you feel the need._

_Hugs, Gabriella_

**To:** Idontdance

**From:** Goldenthroat

**Subject:** You better not…

_Chad Danforth,_

_Whatever your problem is… leave my brother out of it! He's got problems enough of his own!_

_Back off!_

**To:** Everyone

**From:** Idontdance

**Subject:** ?!?

_Guys, stop spamming my mailbox!_

_I have no clue what's going on with you all. There's nothing wrong with me and… Sharpay, I've absolutely no idea what you're talking about!!_

_I haven't talked to Ryan in weeks (sorry dude, I've been busy) and my problems have nothing to do with him._

_Not that I HAVE problems in the first place. No problem!_

_Okay… there is something… but it's not a problem. I have some news for you but I didn't want to tell you on the phone or like this._

_I wanted to tell you face to face and I will. Soon._

_So, I'll see you all on Sunday at the Evans' home (well, apart from you, Taylor… but you already know, so… I wish you a happy Christmas, wherever you are)._

_Chad_

_

* * *

  
_

When Friday came Ryan wasn't the least bit surprised that Sharpay hadn't come with their chauffeur to welcome him at the airport. He would have been rather shocked if she'd come.

He was still trying to be angry at her for what she'd done but at the same time he knew that once they would see each other he wouldn't be able to hold up the (granted, pretty immature) silent treatment.

So when Martin the chauffeur pulled the car up to his home (they'd dropped Kelsi off at her house first) and Sharpay suddenly came rushing out of the front door Ryan did the only thing possible.

He tried hard to scowl at his twin (but failed miserably) and then he broke into a sly grin and pulled her into a quick hug.

"Hey!"

Sharpay returned the hug and sighed relieved:

"Thank God you've come to your senses, Ry!"

"Don't start, Shar!" Ryan replied sternly and after releasing her he pulled his bag from the backseat. Slinging it over one shoulder he threw a look back and added: "Just drop it, okay? I'm still mad at you!"

"But you're talking to me again, aren't you?" Sharpay gave back with a shrug, "So, who cares?"

Ryan didn't answer but made his way to the front door and stepped into the house where his mom pulled him into a warm embrace, whispering a heartfelt "Welcome home, Ducky!" onto his hair.

Sharpay followed slowly and closed the front door with an audible smash. Rolling her eyes at the display of affection she thought: 'Oh puh-lease, he's only been gone for three month!'

Their mother acted as if Ryan had just returned from a year-long trip to Siberia!

"Kitten, why don't you go and tell Marie that Ryan would love some hot chocolate after he's freshened up a bit?" Darby Evans tried to put her daughter's temper to good use. Then she turned back to her son and smiled warmly.

"Am I right, Darling?"

"Sure, mom. The whole plane ride I've thought about nothing but hot chocolate. I'll be right back down to enjoy a cup with you."

He turned to the staircase and started climbing up, his bag once again slung over one shoulder. When he'd reached the first landing he shouted back down:

"Oh, and Sharpay? Don't forget to ask Marie for those little Marshmallows I love so much!"

* * *

Later, when their mother had left them to talk alone for a bit, the twins sat side by side on the couch in the living room, each with a cup of hot chocolate in their hands and a box of biscuits placed between them.

Ryan had to smile about what they had to look like now… the perfect picture of sibling-unity. And indeed he could already feel his resolve to stay mad at his sister crumble. After all, 'The Robin-Incident', as he'd come to call the cause for their fight in his head, had happened more than three weeks ago. And… so far no lingering harm had come out of it. Robin was still talking to him and… well, he'd see what would happen after he'd return to New York in January.

Sharpay's voice suddenly broke the silence:

"So, you know something about Danforth's news?"

"Nope, not a thing," Ryan replied surprised. "I haven't talked to Chad for more than two weeks. And he seemed pretty normal to me then."

"Must be something big… ooh, I know!" Sharpay suddenly leaned back on the couch and drew in a big breath.

"What?" Ryan asked suspiciously.

His sister looked as if she'd just been announced winning an Oscar and Ryan knew that whatever would come next, it wouldn't be something nice.

"I bet he knocked up his girlfriend!" Sharpay announced and smirked devilishly.

Ryan nearly choked on a biscuit crumb.

"What? No way!"

"Just wait and see, Ry," his twin smiled knowingly, "I'm never wrong with something like that!"

And Ryan had to agree, she'd never been wrong before.

Oh boy, Sunday couldn't arrive fast enough for his liking.

* * *

Ryan had been in bed, tossing and turning restlessly for over an hour, before he'd decided that he couldn't wait till Sunday to hear Chad's news. He'd pulled out his cell and had dialed Chad's number but after the first ringing he'd suddenly thought better of it and had disconnected the line quickly.

How was he to ask Chad if he was really going to be a father?

He couldn't, not on the phone.

So Ryan had decided to go for an email instead and he'd jumped out of bed and had hurriedly booted his notebook. When the desktop had been loaded with Ashton's picture Ryan had noticed his mailbox blinking. He'd received two new mails since he'd left New York this morning.

The first one read:

**To:** Jazzsquare

**From:** Shorty

**Subject:** How did it go?

_Hey Ryan,_

_Are you still alive? Or did Sharpay kill you as soon as you entered your home? Please let me know how you're doing._

_Love, Kelsi_

Ryan wrote a quick reply before he went to read the next mail. It was from Gabriella.

**To:** Jazzsquare

**From:** Sunshine

**Subject:** Are you okay?

_Hey Ry,_

_I just wanted to know if you and Sharpay have made up already. I mean, it would be just awful if you two were still not speaking to each other when we're having our party on Sunday._

_So please, whatever she did to you… I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt you deliberately._

_Call me if you need to talk to someone about it._

_Gabs_

Ryan couldn't suppress a smile when he wrote an answer to calm her down. Sweet Gabriella, always trying to help and wishing for everyone to get along nicely. She couldn't stand fights of any kind.

"I wonder how Troy can stand that much sweetness," he shuddered and pressed 'Send'. Then he opened a new mail and after thinking a moment wrote:

**To:** Idontdance

**From:** Jazzsquare

**Subject:** Just checking in

_Hey Chad,_

_Man, sorry for not getting back at you sooner. I seem to be suffering from jet-lack because I can't sleep and I just wanted to know if you're alright and everything._

_And about the news you wanna tell us… well, if there's anything I can help you with… though if it's what Sharpay thinks it is then I don't know what I could do to help you…_

_Anyway, you can count on me for support of any kind (though I don't know if I'm any good at babysitting, I never tried)._

_Yeah, see you on Sunday,_

_Ryan_

He read it over twice and corrected one or two misspellings before he was pleased enough with the mail to send it off.

Then Ryan shut down his notebook, crawled back into bed and was asleep only moments later.

* * *

By Saturday evening Chad had written a reply, a truly weird one. On first reading Ryan couldn't guess if Chad had been too angry to form coherent sentences or if he'd maybe gone and drowned his problems in alcohol before writing the mail.

**To:** Jazzsquare (stupid nickname, dude)

**From:** Idontdance

**Subject:** ???

_Ryan,_

_WHAT THE FUCK???_

_I don't know how you found out unless your sister blackmailed Taylor with something I don't know about but however she did it. I don't know what to say to you._

_What do you wanna hear man? Aren't you going to glee happily and sing on top of your voice "Na na nana na, I've always known!! I told you so!!" Except you never did, you never said anything._

_So how did you know?_

_And what do you mean… you don't know how YOU could help me? Who else could? I don't know anyone else._

_I'm not sure that babysitting is the word I'd have gone for but… whatever shoe fits. I'm all open for suggestions. Isn't there some kind of handbook for this?_

_See you tomorrow!_

_Chad_

When Ryan had read the mail for the fifth time and still without making any sense of it he thought briefly about showing it to Sharpay and asking her for help.

But then he dismissed the idea quickly again. No matter that he and Shar were back on good terms… Chad hadn't authorized him to tell anyone and so there was nothing for him to do but wait until Chad would finally come out with the news to all of them on Sunday.

Damn, he hated waiting!

* * *

**Please let me know what you think so far, okay?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

Sunday had finally arrived and after two major shouting-matches with his twin (they couldn't agree on what to tell the others about the cause for their days-long row) and after three hours of browsing through his walk-in-closet for the perfect outfit the hands of Ryan's watch had finally moved to quarter to seven.

As if on cue the doorbell rang and with one last look into the mirror to check his hat Ryan went to open the door.

"Hey!" Gabriella was the first to greet and pull him into a big hug. Troy, Zeke, Jason and Martha followed and spilled one after the other into the entrance hall, slapping him friendly on the back in walking (at least the boys did… Martha had a hug of her own for Ryan).

"Hey guys," Ryan smiled, "come on in! Good to see you all!"

"And you, too!" Martha replied and with a look at his head she added: "Hey, I like your new hair."

"Thanks," Ryan beamed and took everyone's coat, only to hand them over to Marie who'd waited in the background to put them away.

"New hair?" Troy asked and took a closer look at Ryan's head. He didn't see any difference.

"Yeah, I've let it grown out since graduation," Ryan emphasized his statement by pulling out a blond strand from under his black hat. The hair went down to his earlobe by now and he was quite proud of not having cut it off (especially when it looked quite stupid in the mornings and he had to get up twenty minutes earlier than usual only to tame the blond mass or otherwise he'd look like having bed-hair all day).

"Oh," Troy mumbled and threw a quick glance at the other guys to see if they'd noticed the new hair. Jason obviously hadn't either and Zeke was busy looking for Sharpay in the living room already. So no help from there. Well, it was probably a girl's thing to comment on things like that because next was Gabriella chiming in:

"It really suits you, Ry."

"Thank you, Gabs. I may be starring as Baby John next spring and I didn't wanna ruin my chances by not having the hair for it. Oh, and you're looking lovely by the way."

They'd all entered the living room by now and when Ryan motioned for them to sit Gabriella asked curiously:

"They're doing 'West Side Story' at Julliard next spring?"

"Not at Julliard, no," Ryan replied slowly. "But I kind of joined a small theater crew and… it's all in my spare time, you know? They wanna do 'West Side Story' and… well, maybe… I get lucky."

"Wow, Ryan… that's so cool," Gabriella gasped while Zeke muttered under his breath:

"You actually have spare time? How come I don't have spare time?"

"How did you join them, Ryan?" Martha wanted to know.

"Oh, well…" Ryan fidgeted and… was he blushing? "You see, Robin from my vocal class…"

"RYAN THOMAS EVANS, don't you dare talk any further!" Sharpay stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips, glaring fiercely down at her twin.

"But…"

The blond girl shushed him with a wave of her hand and walked into the room to sit next to Zeke on the couch.

"Not until everyone's here, Ry. We agreed on that!"

"Calm down, Shar." Ryan dared to reply, "I was only telling that Robin introduced me to the theater company, that's all!"

"Oh," Sharpay had the grace to look embarrassed for a second before she continued:

"Well, now you said it, so… let's change the subject, shall we?" And with a sudden sweet look she addressed Troy opposite from her.

"Troy! How've you been?"

"Hey Sharpay," the boy greeted her back, "Nice outfit!"

"Thank you, you're so… observant!"

Jason let out a snort and when everybody looked at him he shrugged and said:

"Troy? Observant? He didn't even notice Ryan's new hair!"

"Ryan has new hair?" Sharpay wondered surprised and threw a closer look at her twin. "Oh, right. Now I see it, too."

Well, so much for observant.

* * *

Half an hour later Kelsi had also joined the party at the Evans' home and was chatting amiably with Martha about her music classes. Troy and Gabriella sat with Ryan in a corner and the three of them were lost in a discussion about living away from home.

Or rather… Gabriella and Ryan were discussing. Troy sat by, not really listening but lost in his own thoughts.

Where was Chad? He hadn't talked to him at all since returning home and now he wondered if he should have perhaps checked on his best friend (they still were best friends, weren't they?) to make sure he was alright.

But Chad had said in his mail that everything was fine, hadn't he? And he'd also said that he would be here by seven. So… what was taking him so long?

Why was he…

The doorbell rang and pulled Troy out of his thoughts. Everybody else stopped talking, too and when Ryan walked away to answer the door all eyes followed him.

It had to be Chad at the door.

So now their little reunion would finally be complete and they would all at last hear the much looked-forward-to news Chad had announced in his mail.

Sharpay smiled gleefully and clapped her hands in anticipation. Now the fun was about to start.

* * *

Ryan opened the door and…

The greeting he'd had on his tongue stuck in his throat at the sight of Chad. He looked…

"Hey Evans!" Chad smiled slightly. "Am I late?"

'Wow,' was the only word on Ryan's mind right now but he forced his brain to work and managed a breathless "Hi" instead.

Stepping back to let Chad enter gave Ryan the chance to look his friend up and down without being too obvious.

What was it about Chad that was different?

The clothes? No, Jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with a warm wool-jacket over it. Nothing extraordinary.

The hair? Still the same untamed mop of curls he'd sported in High School.

But Ryan just knew that something was… off.

And then he suddenly knew nothing anymore, nothing but the feel of Chad's warm body pressed against his in a friendly hug. Ryan's precious new hat was knocked slightly askew by Chad's head when they leaned into each other briefly but… right now Ryan couldn't care less.

What, oh what was it about Chad Danforth that made Ryan feel like he was melting into a puddle of warm goo whenever he wasn't concentrating hard enough?

It had been like this since their summer at Lava Springs and ever since then Ryan had worked hard on not letting his feelings for the jock be noticed by anyone (apart from Sharpay of course). Over the last year he'd perfected the art of suppressing his feelings all the time… until he'd one day realized, a few weeks before the prom, that he'd managed to squash them down to a comfortable and strictly friendly level and he'd been able to act normal around Chad again and work with him on the Musical just like friends.

Or so he'd thought.

Now he wasn't so sure anymore. Ryan sighed involuntarily with another look at Chad who'd now broken the embrace and was looking at Ryan expectantly.

Oh, wait… was he expected to say something?

"Ugh," Ryan stammered, "what did you say?"

"Nothing, Evans. I was just trying to get back your attention," Chad smiled. "You spaced out on me for a second."

"Sorry," Ryan mumbled and motioned for Chad to follow him into the living room, where the rest of the gang was waiting for them.

"Chad!" Gabriella was the first to break the silence that had fallen over the room. She jumped from the sofa and crushed her small body to Chad's.

"Hey, how are you? Are you okay? It's so good to see you!"

"Wow, Gabs!" Chad smiled confused, "Missed me that much, did you?"

"Of course I did, you silly! All of us did, am I right?"

She released her hold on the jock and gave others the chance to welcome him. Troy had stood as well and was the next to pull Chad into a friendly hug.

"Hey," he whispered only for Chad to hear, "sorry, dude, for not being in touch more often. Are we okay?"

"Sure," Chad replied and made his way over to greet the rest of the party.

The conversation that had haltered on Chad's arrival was now gradually picked up again and soon enough they were all back to chatting about College and Red Hawks, about Julliard and Music in general and… everything seemed back to normal.

Until Sharpay suddenly stood up from her place on Zeke's lap to walk into the middle of the room and get everyone's attention with a wave of her hand and a shout.

"Okay… enough!"

Everyone looked at her, confusion written all over their faces, and waited for her to go on:

"Now that the pleasantries have been exchanged let's get to the good stuff."

She threw a pointed glare around and when her gaze had found Chad's she smiled sweetly and added:

"Out with the news, Chad!"

"What?"

"You wanted to tell us something, didn't you?" Sharpay clarified.

Eight pairs of eyes fell instantly onto Chad and the jock could feel his body temperature rise and his face start to heat. This was so not how he'd pictured the scene in his head.

Chad rose from his seat and shook his head quickly.

"No, I mean… yes! But first I wanna know what's been wrong with you two for the last few weeks." He glared first at Sharpay and then his gaze landed on Ryan before he went on:

"I mean, dude! We all know that you've got this weird twin-thing going on that nobody really gets but… the week-long silent treatment was a bit much, even for you Drama Queens!"

"Hey!" Ryan exclaimed with his hands crossed over his chest defiantly.

"Sorry," Chad corrected, "Queen and… King. So… what was that all about?"

"Ugh, well…" Ryan stammered and broke off helplessly.

"Oh come on, Ry!" Sharpay growled. "You have to come out with it sooner or later. And I can't wait to hear what they all think about this."

"Why not later then?" Ryan asked but a brisk huff from his sister shut him up again. Sharpay looked at him for a second, shook her head disappointedly and said:

"It was a stupid thing and Ryan here totally overreacted!"

"I did NOT overreact, Shar!" Ryan threw back. "Not from my perspective. You have to tell how it really was!"

"Why don't YOU tell them?" his twin replied but before Ryan could so much as take a breath she added:

"Never mind, I'll tell them! Okay, a few weeks ago Ryan told me he was dating Robin," Sharpay started and waited for a reaction.

"So?" Troy asked confused.

He'd always wondered, and he sure as hell hadn't been the only one, when Ryan would eventually start living a little. As far as they all knew Ryan hadn't had one date in High School (apart from the prom but… he'd gone with Kelsi, as friends, so that didn't count, right?). It had been high time for him to start acting on his sexuality, or so Troy thought. And he seriously couldn't see the problem Sharpay seemed to have with that. Unless… she hadn't known Ryan was gay. But that was impossible, wasn't it?

Everyone had known (even without Ryan actually saying it).

"I don't see…" Troy filled the silence at last.

When Ryan motioned for Sharpay to go on she sighed and continued:

"Well, I called him a few days later and there was suddenly this strange girl on the phone. I demanded to know why she had my brother's cell and she said that Ryan was in the bathroom and…"

Sharpay made a dramatic pause before she continued: "And that she was Ryan's girlfriend! I couldn't help but laugh at that and tell her in no uncertain terms that it could be in no way true because my brother has always been and will always be gay!"

Nobody even blinked at that and so Sharpay went on:

"Only now Ryan suddenly thinks he's not."

"Huh?"

"Ryan is dating a girl!" Sharpay cried and waited for the others to react.

Silence.

"Oh," Troy mumbled at last and looked around to see how everyone else was taking this revelation. Zeke, Jason, Martha and Gabriella seemed to be in the same kind of shock that was speaking out of Chad's face. Kelsi was the only one not looking too surprised, but then… she'd probably known for a while since she was the only one seeing Ryan on regular basis in New York.

"Well, say something!" Sharpay prompted when the silence stretched longer and longer. "See Ry, they're all shocked. They don't believe it either!"

"Guys," Ryan addressed his friends at last, "come on! What's so wrong with me dating a girl?"

"Well, you're… I mean," once again it was Troy who phrased what they were all thinking. "We all thought… ugh, you know…"

"That I was gay?"

"Yeah!" the girls confirmed.

"Sure," Troy nodded, "and hey, it's cool man!"

"No, it's not cool, man!" Ryan exclaimed and jumped up from his seat to start pacing back and forth. "Why would you think I was gay? I never said that! "

"Well, no…" Gabriella relented just when Zeke, Jason and Troy started pulling things off their fingers.

"You didn't have to… the outfits…"

"And the hats… with the sparkles and rhinestones and all…"

"And don't forget the knee-length boots!"

Ryan glanced down his body, his gaze going from the extra-crinkled pastel-pink designer-shirt he was wearing over his skinny black jeans and the pink belt complete with rhinestones down to his shiny black Alexander McQueen boots.

"Just because I like to dress up…" he shrugged.

"Dude, you don't dress up… you flame!" Chad forced out between clenched teeth. It was the first comment he'd made on the whole issue.

"And then the whole Musical thing… you sing, you dance…" Troy broke off when a pointed stare from Ryan reminded him of his own choice of career. Oh, right!

"But what about the Ashton Kutcher posters your room was once plastered in?" Martha asked cautiously. "I thought you had a crush on him!"

"He did!" Sharpay exclaimed forcefully. "And not just on him, all of last year he was pining for…"

"Shut up!" Ryan shouted suddenly.

Now everyone was back to staring at Ryan in shock. They'd never ever heard him shout before, he'd always embodied the more calm and reserved half of the twins (unless he was on stage acting). But now he was fuming, eyes as cold as ice, and actually staring his sister down.

"That doesn't matter anymore, Shar! I'm dating Robin now and… I really like her!"

"O-kay, everyone calm down!" Gabriella broke the staring contest with a kind smile and jumped up to pull Ryan into a spontaneous hug.

"I don't care if you're gay or straight or… suddenly start sprouting tentacles out of your head! You're you and I missed your company."

She released him to smile around the room and the tension flowed away instantly. Then she took Ryan's wrist in her hand and started pulling him over to the stereo system to put on some music.

"This is supposed to be a party, so… let's have some fun, guys!"

"Thanks!" Ryan smiled down into her pretty face and when the music started and Gabriella pulled him into dancing position Ryan suddenly felt really back home for the first time in days.

* * *

For a short while Troy watched his girlfriend dance with Ryan through the living room before he made his way over to where Chad sat with shoulders slumped, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

"Hey," he said and plopped down next to him, "are you okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Chad groused. "I wish you would all just stop!"

"Okay," Troy relented and quickly searched for another topic to talk about. "So," he finally asked, "do you think Ryan was serious earlier? Do you think he's straight? Like… seriously?"

"Dude," Chad answered and stood up swiftly, "so not the thing I want to talk about right now!" And with that he started walking away.

"Chad?" Troy shouted after him.

"Leave it, Bolton. I need some fresh air!" Chad replied without turning back, went into the entrance hall and out of sight.

Troy stared after his friend for a moment. There was definitely something bothering Chad big time but… well, he would come out and tell sooner or later, wouldn't he? Best not to pressure him too much. Troy shook his head to drop the thought and focused his gaze back onto his beautiful girlfriend.

* * *

**So, still like it? Let me know before you go to the last part.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

After his flight from the living room Chad had been wandering around the Evans' spacious backyard for quite some time (and, man, this place was huge!) before he'd sat down on the steps that led to one of several stone pavilions the lawn seemed to be plastered with.

Some kind of Greek statue was his sole company (Diane? Or had she been the Roman one? Damn, he should have paid more attention in History Class… or wherever they'd been taught stuff like that).

Whoever it portrayed, the marble sculpture had been patiently listening to Chad's muttered thoughts and ramblings for more than half an hour now.

Chad was beginning to feel cold sitting there but… he couldn't go back inside just yet. He simply wasn't ready to face his friends, not after having just heard the most perplexing news about Ryan ever.

Ryan Evans… the most flamboyant and, yes, gay person he'd ever met.

Who'd turned out to be not gay at all!

Chad led out an unsteady laugh. Apparently his (admittedly still shaky) gay-dar was in dire need of a little fine-tuning, wasn't it? Chad shook his head as another quiet laugh escaped his lips, but this time it seemed more like a desperate attempt to not start sobbing.

'Ryan's dating a girl!'

Sharpay's shrill voice was still ringing in Chad's ears, no matter how hard he tried to block it out. 'Why would you think I was gay? I never said that!' Ryan's desperate voice joined his twin's inside Chad's head and he screwed his eyes shut against the onslaught of unwanted memories.

This was so not what Chad needed right now, not when there was still the fucking difficult task of telling his friends about the changes in his own life waiting for him!

But how could he do that now? He couldn't!

Not when the one person he'd counted on for help, for support and, yes, as an anchor had suddenly decided to change sides with flying colors.

No, not when it suddenly looked like he would have to hold up the rainbow flag all alone.

* * *

Ryan had noticed Chad leaving the room out of the corner of his eyes earlier. But only when the jock still hadn't returned after half an hour Ryan started to wonder where Chad had gone.

He didn't think he'd left the party completely (Chad's jacket was still there, Ryan had checked), so that meant Chad had to be somewhere around. He'd checked the kitchen, the library, the billiard room and even the dance studio (those rooms were all downstairs and somehow Ryan didn't think that Chad had gone upstairs in a foreign home) but Chad was nowhere to be seen.

Had he maybe gone outside?

Dressed in a gray Armani coat and with Chad's jacket over one arm Ryan left the house through the back door and made his way across the neatly cultivated lawn.

It had gotten unusually cold for New Mexico at this time of the year and Ryan was glad he'd put his coat on. If Chad had been outside all this time then he had to be freezing by now, Ryan thought, just as he noticed some movement near one of the pavilions.

Ryan walked closer and, really, there was Chad.

He'd apparently just stood up from the steps and was now pacing back and forth, his arms wrapped tightly around his torso to get some warmth.

"Chad?" Ryan announced his presence from a few feet away so as not to shock the other boy. But Chad must have been deeply lost in thought for he still startled and jumped around quickly.

"Ryan?" His eyes narrowed, "what are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I ask you that?" Ryan gave back with a grin. "You've been gone for over half an hour!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh!" Ryan stepped closer and took a look at Chad's face. His lips were drawn into a tight line and there was a dull ache in his normally clear brown eyes.

The other boy held his gaze for a second before his eyes traveled back onto his sneakers.

"Here," Ryan held out Chad's jacket and watched him silently put it on. "So," he asked then, "you wanna walk a few…?"

"Okay," Chad sighed and, stuffing his hands deep inside his pockets, shuffled along quietly.

They walked across the huge garden, not really caring where they went, for another silent five minutes and Ryan felt Chad's eyes flicker towards his face and quickly away again more than he thought he could bear. But as irritating as Chad's behavior was and as much as he wanted to know what was bothering him, Ryan kept his gaze steadily averted and waited for Chad to start talking.

"Hey, Evans?"

'_Finally,_' Ryan thought relieved and loud he murmured: "Yeah?"

"Are you… are you sure that you're not gay?" Chad's voice was nothing but a hesitant whisper.

Ryan's head shot up and he was about to send a scratching remark back when his eyes met Chad's and his voice died in his throat. God, he looked so… frightened and insecure and… nothing like the cocky Chad Ryan had come to know and… like.

'_No, not when I look at you._' Ryan sighed inwardly but all that came out was: "Why is everyone suddenly so obsessed with my sexuality?"

Chad's eyes grew wide and he made a quick step backwards. "I'm not obsessed with… I just always thought that… and now that I… I'd just hoped that…" He broke off and shook his head.

"I don't know, man. I'd just hoped that… I could count on you. That you'd understand, man."

When Ryan stared at him in confused silence Chad let out a nervous laugh. "You know… sitting in the same boat… two peas in a pod or… whatever this thing is called!"

"No," Ryan's brain was still trying to work it's way though Chad's ramblings but… he couldn't mean, it couldn't be… He felt like someone, possibly Chad, had just pulled the rug from under his feet and he couldn't breathe. His eyes widened comically and then…

"No!" Ryan gasped. "You can't mean… No, no no! Absolutely not! Chad, you can't be gay! You can't! Not when I've finally managed to get over…"

"Ryan," Chad's voice was soft and near, too near.

"No," Ryan repeated, desperate now. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets they were so big and he'd started breathing heavily. And then he suddenly spun around on his heels and ran away.

'_Shit!'_

Chad started running after him and, being a bit more of an athlete than Ryan, caught up with him just when Ryan reached the back porch of the house. He grabbed Ryan's coat-clad shoulder and tried to make him stop moving but Ryan proved to be remarkably strong underneath all that fancy clothing and he managed to pull Chad forward with him. Together they stumbled through the back door into the kitchen and there crashed forcefully against the counter. A silver tray laden with two big bowls of chips clattered to the floor from the impact and it was the loud crash that finally brought both boys to a stunned and out-of-breath halt.

They were still staring at each other in frosty silence when the door to the living room flew open and Sharpay, followed by Gabriella, Troy and everybody else, came rushing in to see what had caused the commotion.

"What… Ryan, God! What's wrong with you guys?" Sharpay's shrill and accusing voice finally pulled her twin out of his shock-shelled posture.

"Shar, I…" Ryan's voice cracked and to his own horror he could feel tears starting to form behind his eyes. "Shit," he exclaimed and without looking at anyone, especially not Chad, he jumped over the mess on the ground and fled out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Ry-an!" Sharpay shrieked after him but Chad shushed her determinedly.

"Let him go!"

"What… what did you DO, Danforth?" Sharpay demanded forcefully.

Everyone's head turned to look at Chad and he took a deep breath to steady himself and simply shrugged, nudged some chips on the ground with his shoe, and answered:

"I think I may have just come out to him."

"You what?" Troy gasped.

"I came out to him. That's what I wanted to tell you guys. I'm gay." Chad exhaled deeply. He wondered briefly how his voice could sound so calm when his insides were still tied into nervous knots but… at the same time he knew that it had been the right thing to say it and… it felt surprisingly easy and… good to say it loud at last.

"No way!" Troy shook his head while Zeke and Jason broke into big laughter at the hilarious joke. The girls simply kept staring at Chad.

"I'm not joking, guys. Believe me, I wish I was." Chad's voice was still too calm for his own liking. "For the last few weeks I've done more than enough soul-searching and everything and… it's true. I'm gay and it feels good to say it out loud. I was scared shitless to tell you and I really hope you're okay with it, but… frankly, no matter how you take the news, it won't change anything. I'm still gay."

Chad looked from one friend to the other. Jason was gaping at him like a fish, Zeke was looking at Troy in confusion, Troy was still shaking his head in denial, Kelsi, Martha and Gabriella looked as if they were about to cry and Sharpay…

Sharpay was staring at him with the same incredulous shock on her face that Chad had seen on Ryan earlier.

"Sharpay," he addressed her, "if you want to be like Ryan and shout at me then go ahead. You are twins, after all, so…"

"Ryan shouted at you?" Gabriella asked shocked, the hostile staring-contest the twins had had earlier still fresh in her memory (and especially the part where Ryan had actually won, completely unbelievable and out-of-character).

"Yeah," Chad confirmed, "not the reaction I thought I would get. You know, when I thought about how to tell you all then I'd always pictured Ryan as the only one not being angry! I thought he'd support me and all… but, that was when I still thought he was gay, too. So…"

"Danforth, you big, freaking asshole!"

Sharpay's voice was nearly doubling over from force.

"What?"

"Of course Ryan's angry with you! How could he not be? He spent all of last year desperately trying to get over his stupid crush on you and now that he's finally managed to move on, you come along and tell him that you're gay? That, na na nana na, he missed his shot? Uargh, boys!" Sharpay finished with a fierce glare and stomped off into the living room.

"Dude," Troy wondered, "that nearly sounded as if she actually, like, cares for Ryan!"

"Shush, Troy!" Gabriella elbowed her oblivious boyfriend in the ribs and Troy finally looked at Chad who had gone completely shell-shocked and sickly-looking. He'd sunken onto his heels, back supported by the counter, his hands thrown over his face and he was muttering "Oh God's!" over and over.

Troy motioned for the others to leave and while they reluctantly went out he sank down to the ground and put an arm around Chad's trembling shoulders.

"I'm such a jerk! Such a jerk!"

"Hey," Troy shook him slightly. "You're not a jerk, Chad."

"Yes, I am!" came the muffled reply. "But I didn't know, man!" He let his hands sink down into his lap and looked at his best friend with wide eyes. "I really didn't know!"

"I know," Troy tried to console.

"You knew?" Chad's eyes opened even wider now.

"No!" Troy quickly assured. "I didn't know that! I meant that I know that you didn't know. Not that I knew! I didn't even know there was something to know, you know?"

"Dude, stop! My head hurts!" Chad managed a small grin before he bumped his head against the counter and groaned.

Troy kept staring at him for a while before he took a deep breath and squeezed Chad's shoulder once.

"So, you're gay, hm?"

"Yeah," Chad nodded. "You okay with that?"

"As long as you don't start wearing glitter mascara or hitting on me."

"Dude," Chad shuddered, "you're so not my type!"

"Good!" And after a slight pause Troy added cautiously: "Is Ryan your type?"

"No!"

Chad's answer came a bit too rushed for Troy to believe him and he seemed to have noticed it, too.

"Shit, I don't know, man. Not that it's ever gonna happen now anyway, not after tonight's disaster. But, I mean… really, he's… Ryan! He wears lots of pink shirts and sparkling hats and, I bet he wears glitter mascara, too."

Troy snorted.

"And did you see him tonight? Those boots? I mean, dude!" Chad laughed, a genuine, amused laugh, before he groaned again:

"But, oh man!"

"What?"

"The JEANS! I swear, I've never in my life seen anyone wear such skinny, tight-fitting, absolutely fucking unbelievably hot jeans!"

"Ugh," Troy muttered uncomfortably but Chad went on already.

"I've seen him wear those jeans before, last year during rehearsals, but… GOD, I must have been blind!" Chad buried his face behind his hands once again and Troy laughed.

"Yeah, he's not your type at all, Chad. Right!"

"Shut up, dude! Of course he is! He's Ryan!"

"And he's standing right here," a voice from the other side of the counter softly sounded all of a sudden.

Shit!

"Ryan!" Chad's face lost all color instantly and he closed his eyes. Troy looked up to see the boy in question walk slowly around the cooking isle they were leaned against to come stand in front of them.

"Ugh," he stammered and let go of Chad's shoulder to pull himself onto his feet. "I'll just… you know, ugh… go and look where the others are."

"You do that," Ryan nodded without his eyes ever leaving Chad's downcast face.

"Yeah, well… okay, ugh. I'll be… I'm gone." Troy fled without looking back.

Chad didn't dare to open his eyes, afraid of what he would see in Ryan's face. But when the other boy made no move whatsoever (and Chad's eyes began to hurt behind closed lids) he finally opened them and let his gaze wander up slowly, drinking in the sight before him.

Black leather boots that enclosed slim calves, a dancer's calves, and wouldn't end for a very long time. Then, eventually, well-muscled legs clad in, oh, those black jeans. The same skinny jeans that hid nothing whatsoever when Chad's gaze went higher and higher and made his mouth suddenly go very dry. He tried to pass the zipping-area very quickly (but not without noticing the tell-tale shape it covered) and let his eyes fall onto the bright pink belt instead. A belt covered in glimmering rhinestones and, oh… pale and slender hands on each side of incredibly slim hips, thumbs hooked into belt loops.

Chad's Adam's apple bobbed painfully in his dry throat when he gulped. His eyes were meanwhile involuntarily drawn up by a small silver-colored stitch weaving its way through the pastel-pink crinkled shirt that hugged Ryan's chest and arms in all the right places without being too tight.

Chad followed the row of buttons (were that silver musical notes?) up to where they suddenly parted to give way for a glimpse of naked skin right under Ryan's throat.

Chad had to gulp again and he suddenly noticed Ryan's throat work heavily at the same time. His eyes flew up to Ryan's face and clear blue eyes locked on his and…Oh God, had he been crying?

"Ryan," Chad whispered hoarsely, "God, I'm so sorry! I was a jerk…"

"Yes, you were." Ryan stated, crouched down in front of Chad's drawn-up knees and gave them a half-hearted smack. "But I was a jerk, too. Running out on you like that when you'd just pulled all your brass together to come out? That was pretty jerk-y, don't you think?"

Ryan's tone was light, nearly teasing, but Chad could make out a shaky edge underneath. He tried to put as much calmness and softness as possible into his voice when he answered:

"I guess I would have done the same. I mean, if the guy I had a crush on would suddenly tell me 'Hey, guess what, I'm gay!' right after I'd finally gotten over him… I'd probably shoot him or… or hit him." Chad looked briefly down onto his knees and remembered: "Oh, but you hit me, man, so I guess that's alright then."

Ryan let out a mix between a snort and a sigh and plopped down to sit on Chad's right. He took off his black fedora, placed it neatly onto the ground and leaned his head back against the counter. His left shoulder was touching Chad's right and Chad could feel Ryan's body heat radiating into his arm and from there spread through his entire body. It felt… good, really good. He closed his eyes again and nearly missed Ryan's whispered words:

"I didn't, that's the problem."

"What?"

"You said in your, by the way very eloquently phrased, summary: 'After I'd gotten over him' or something." Ryan waited for Chad to look at him again. "I didn't."

"You didn't."

"No." Ryan sighed again. "I tried but… no."

Chad tried to wrap his mind around what that meant for their situation but came up blank. "So," he asked finally, "that leaves us… where exactly?"

"That leaves us," Ryan paused and stood up, one hand picking up his fedora on the way while the other pulled Chad to his feet in a single stunning movement only he could ever pull off, "exactly here. With me standing in the middle of my parents' kitchen, about to kiss the guy with the damn worst timing ever."

"Kiss?" Chad gulped.

He noticed that Ryan hadn't let go of his hand yet and that their fingers seemed to have intertwined without him becoming aware of it. Ryan's face was suddenly mere inches away, it was so close that Chad could make out some tiny blond stubble above Ryan's upper lip that he must have missed when shaving. And for one second Chad wondered what his own face looked like this close up right now. He wondered if he perhaps should have shaved before coming here, and if he perhaps had some left-over crumbs on his lip, and if his breath smelled perhaps horrible, and…

And then Ryan leaned in and their lips met tentatively and all thoughts left Chad's brain altogether. Ryan's lips were soft, but not girly-soft, and they tasted like cherry, but no cheap lipstick cherry. They tasted like real cherries and Chad suddenly remembered how, when he'd been five or six or something like that, he'd once climbed high up into a big cherry tree, all the way up to where the best and biggest and ripest and sweetest cherries had grown.

And he'd sat there on a beautiful summer's day, feet dangling high above the ground, happy and without a care in the world, and he'd picked as much cherries off the branches as his tiny hands had been able to hold. He'd stuffed his small but even then already unlimited stomach with cherries over and over and they'd tasted so sweet and good and…

You know the feeling when, no matter that you've eaten more than could ever be healthy, no matter that you're so stuffed that you think you'll never be able to eat anything ever again, and your mom gets angry because she cooked dinner in vain, no matter that you'll be sick and aching all night… when you know all this beforehand and you still can't stop eating all those cherries that taste so sweet because you simply want more, need more, always more and it still won't be enough? Because it simply tastes too good to ever give it up? You know that?

Chad knew exactly what it felt like.

And kissing Ryan was just like that, only ten times better.

And while Chad was standing there in the Evans' kitchen with stupid childhood memories rushing through his head, kissing Ryan, fingers of one hand interlaced with his' and the other hand somewhere on Ryan's back, pulling him closer and then threading through Ryan's soft blond hair, and Ryan's hat got knocked off and rolled away but who cared…

And while Chad had no clue what all this meant and where they'd go from here, whether or not Ryan still had a girlfriend in New York and what would happen once they'd pull apart for air, what they'd say or do then, what all their friends sitting in the living room next door would think…

So while Chad had absolutely no clue whatsoever, or perhaps simply because of that, he just kept on kissing Ryan with everything he had, because…

Because it simply tasted too good to ever give it up.

Just like eating cherries.

THE END

* * *

**Please comment and make me happy :-)**

**Oh, and maybe I will write a short follow-up to deal with what the others did the whole time, how they reacted and so on. You like the idea? Let me know.  
**


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